Electric switch.



H. E. WHITE.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLxcATmN FILEDuNEzs. 1915.

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ATIORNEY Patented Aug. i4, 1917.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEieE.

HAROLD E. WHITE, oE GLEN RIDGE, NEW JERSEY, Essie-NOR ro cRooKER-WHEELER COMPANY, 0E AMPERE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION or NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 14, 191 '7.

Original application iiled January 22, 1914. Serial No. 813,622. Divided and this application led June 26,

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HAROLD E. 1Wr-irrn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glen Ridge, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful mi'irovements in Electric Switches, of which the following is a speciication.

My invention relates to electric switches in general, but more particularly to those employed to open and close or control the circuits and connections of electric motors or other electrical machinery or apparatus. The obj ect of my invention is to make such switches reliable and convenient in their action. To this end my invention consists of certain forms and arrangements of the mechanical parts or means for operating switches.

rlhe accompanying drawings illustrate the construction and operation of typical examples of my switches.

Figure 1 is a section and Fig. 2 a plan view showing mechanical features of my switches. This form of my switch is particularly applicable to those uses for which it is desirable to insure the movement of the switch in one direction from a neutral position before it is in condition to be moved in the other direction. For example, in controlling an induction motor by the wellknown star-delta method it is important to make sure that the movable contacts are thrown to the right in order to connect the primary windings in star relation for starting before these contacts are thrown to the left to make the delta connections for running. In Fig. 2 the neutral or oni position of the switch handle 26 is shown in solid lines, the electrical connections being open. To start the motor the handle 2G mounted loosely On the shaft 27, is moved to the right into the position indicated in dotted lines and marked start rThis movement of the handle 26 to the right carries the arm 28 rigidly mounted upon the shaft 27 to the left, because the other end 29 of the handle engages with the lug 30 on the said arm 28. The movable contacts of the switch are controlled by the shaft 27 in Fig. 2. The motor windings are thus connected in star fashion for starting. At the same time the pin 31 movable in the arm 28 is lifted by the inclined plane 32 shown in Fig.

Serial No. 36,472.

1, so that its upper end projects above the surface of the arm 28. As soon as the motor has reached a proper' speed, the switch handle 26 is thrown to the left into the run position indicated in Fig. 2. 1f this movement is made with a fair degree of rapidity, the lever 29 catches the projecting end of the pin 31, and the arm 28 is thereby carried to the' right. This rotates the shaft 27 which controls the movable contacts and causes them to make the delta connections for running the motor at full voltage. T he pin 81 may be caught by the lever 29 simply because the former does not have time to drop out of the way. 1t may also be temporarily `prevented from `dropping by the strip of metal 83 which grips it while the arm 28 is swinging, by reason of the centrifugal force of the mass 34C attached to the strip 33. Either or both of these means may be employed to catch the pin 81 in order to carry the arm 28 to the right.

I have shown and described certain forms and uses of my switches which illustrate their construction, operation and application, but my invention is not confined to these particular cases. 1t is applicable, for example, to a switch for starting an induction motor by means of an auto-transformer and other forms and uses of switches.

In the drawings 1 have indicated how various auxiliary features may be incorporated in or used with my switches. For example, they may be arranged with a spring centering device consisting of parts 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 and 82 in which the roller 77 is forced against the cam-surface of part 28 so that the switch will open whenever there is nothing to hold it closed. Preferably the switch will be provided with a no-voltage release coil 85 which will after the motor has been properly started, hold the switch closed until the no-voltage release coil has been denergized which will occur when an overload relay operates or when the power supply fails or when for convenient stopping, from a remote point, the operator Opens the circuit through the no-voltage release coil by a push button or switch.

Other features of my switches are more fully set forth in my application filed J an. 22, 1914, Serial No. 818,622, in which they are claimed and of which the present application is a division.

I claim:

l. In an electric controller, an operating handle freely movable in both directions from oil position, a movable contact member, and means for coupling said handle to said member when said handle is moved from off position to starting position in one direction but permitting free movement of the handle in the opposite direction toward running position without moving said member.

2. In an electric controller, an operating handle, a movable contact member having the oil position located between starting and running positions, and means for coupling said handle to said member by movement of the parts to starting position for securing movement in the opposite direction to running position.

3. In an electric controller, an operating handle, a movable contact member having the ol' position located between starting and running positions, means for coupling said handle to said member by movement of the parts to starting position and means operative only with rapid motion for securing movement in the opposite direction to running position.

4. In an electric controller, an operating handle, a movable contact` member having the off position located between starting and running positions, means for coupling said handle to said member by movement of the parts to starting position and means operative by centrifugal force due to rapid motion for securing movement in the opposite direction to running position.

HAROLD E. VHITE.

IVitnesses EDMUND LANG, FRANCIS B. CROCKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. C. 

